I am yours and you are mine
by maggied1993
Summary: This is how I WANTED things to go down between Tyrion and Shae in the GOT season 4 finale, because what really happened was just so WRONG!


Tyrion froze in his tracks when he saw Shae lying on his father's bed. The crossbow was heavy in his arms, but he gripped it tightly. "My lion…" Shae moaned, turning toward the doorway. Those words, words meant only for Tyrion, clenched his heart in a tight grasp. Shae's sleepy smile melted from her face when she saw Tyrion. For what seemed like hours, the two stared at each other, as still as if time had been frozen. He could shoot her. The crossbow was ready in his hand. He could aim it at her chest, make her feel a pain identical to the one he was feeling now.

But he knew he couldn't. Much as he could never bring himself to despise his former wife, the whore who had played him for a fool in return for a purse full of gold, he could never harm this woman who lay in front of him. She may have been playing a part since the day they met, but the love he felt for her was very real. No matter how much he may want to, he could never hurt her.

A rustling from behind the privy door shook Tyrion from his trance and reminded him of what he had come to do. Shae tensed as Tyrion moved forward and she kept her eyes on him even as he walked past the bed. His gaze stayed straight forward. He refused to look at her again, for fear he might be distracted from his mission.

When he turned back into the bedroom, Shae was standing, her hands fisted at her side, prepared for a confrontation. Tyrion was frozen once again in her presence. But after a few moments, he forced himself to speak. "I have seen many performances in my years," he began. "But you are- by far- the best actress I have ever seen."

Shae's eyes narrowed. "What the fuck are you talking about?" she spat.

Tyrion continued speaking, ignoring her question. "To be fair, I do share some of the blame. It really was incredibly foolish of me to allow myself to fall for your act. You'd think I'd have learned my lesson."

"Me," Shae stated her tone flat and impossible to read. "You call me an actress, a liar?" This time it was clearly a question, her anger revealing itself.

"A very good one," Tyrion answered, as if his praise of her alleged façade should appease her hurt feelings. "Yet, I still should have seen through it. I was determined that I would not be taken for a fool again." His chin began to quiver, and his right hand clenched tightly in a fist as it rose next to his scarred face, possibly to emphasize his point, more likely to help him hold what little composure he had left and keep the tears gathering in his eyes from falling. "But you were just so convincing," he muttered through gritted teeth. The crossbow in his left hand was now dangling from his grasp, its end resting on the ornate floor below.

Shae slowly shook her head. "What did you want?" she sneered. "For me to sit on some beach somewhere and cry over you, as if my life had ended?

Tyrion cocked his head and pursed his lips in anger. She was missing his point. "You testified against me. After everything, you betrayed me and helped them condemn me to death!"

Shae raised her eyebrows and spoke, her tone filled with insincere sympathy. "Oh, I betrayed you? I said some mean words, hurt your feelings?" The sarcasm fell from her voice. "This coming from the man who sent me away? Who told me I was nothing but a whore, unfit to bear his children?"

"I was trying to protect you!" Tyrion's pain had been replaced by anger, and he was now shouting. He took a breath to calm himself and lowered his voice. He was, after all, an escaped prisoner. Guards would soon notice his absence and search parties would start swarming all of King's Landing. If he were smart, he would be on his way to Varys right now, on his way to gods know where. But his typically sharp mind was clouded by anger, pain, and betrayal. "If they had found out about you, they would have killed you. I tried asking you to leave, but you were too damn stubborn to do what was good for you. I see that has changed now." He nodded to the bed Shae was standing in front of. "Now you are willing to sell me out and fuck an old man to get revenge. Plus however much gold they paid you."

"It always comes back to the money with you," replied Shae. "I've told you before- I don't give a shit about Lannister gold. If I did, I would have gotten enough from you to last me a lifetime. And I didn't do this for revenge either. The only payment I got for any of this was my life." Tyrion's eyes squinted in confusion. "What do you think your family would have done if I had refused their requests?" She explained, exasperated at his slowness. "You think I wanted to fuck your father? What do you think he would have done to me if I hadn't? Besides. I'm just a whore, like you said. That's what whores do."

Tyrion's face went blank as he began to understand what she meant. Who would be stupid enough to refuse Tywin Lannister? Especially a lowly whore with no power to speak of. Had she refused his father, she surely would have been killed. Shae continued as Tyrion mused over his new revelation. "I wouldn't have done it if I had a choice. But why should I shed a tear for helping condemn a man who lied to me. 'I love you, Shae. Don't leave me, Shae. I will take care of you, Shae.' I was the fool! I thought you were different. I thought you were the one Lannister with honor. But the second you are done with me, you reveal the truth and ship me off so you can go live happily ever after with you child bride." She stepped around Tyrion and snatched a satchel off a table, preparing to leave. As she turned towards the door, Tyrion quickly grabbed her arm and spun her back around.

"Since the day I met you," Tyrion began, "the only thing I wanted was to make you happy. To keep you safe." His face once again contorted in pain. This time not from the betrayal he felt, but the pain he had caused her. Now he just needed to make her understand. "Everything I did was because I love you. Everything but staying in this damned place. That was all for me. I was selfish. I thought I could keep you and stay here. But now I don't even know why I wanted to be here." Shae's face was beginning to soften, yet her brow stayed furrowed in thought. "I am so sorry, Shae. I should have gone with you. The day you asked me to leave, I should have jumped at the opportunity." He released her arm now, sure that she would not walk away from him, though she could have easily broken away from his grasp if she had wanted. He took a step back, allowing space between them. "But now I am going. For good." He paused, and she continued looking down at him. "You could come with me. We could go to the free cities, live the rest of our lives away from these people. It's poison here. We could have a fresh start."

Shae slowly shook her head. "I am done being your whore."

"No," Tyrion replied. "Not as my whore. As my friend. My lover. As my lady, as you always have been." He slowly offered his hand to her. "I am yours, and you are mine. Remember?"

For a few moments that seemed an eternity to Tyrion, Shae stared down at his outstretched hand, her face unreadable. Then slowly, she extended her own hand, finally slipping it into Tyrion's. Quietly, choking back tears, she replied. "I am yours, and you are mine."


End file.
